Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

After drinking that bowl of herbal soup, Zhou Wenqing slept for another day and night.

When he woke up, the sunlight outside the window had changed several times. He opened his eyes with difficulty and felt that his body was much heavier than usual, and his chest was a little stuffy. He was not as light as before. He closed his eyes and rested for a while before he could barely sit up.

It's likely that the attack damaged his heart meridian; with old ailments compounded by new injuries, his body probably won't recover for a while.

Compared to these, the bruise on his back that made it difficult for him to sleep soundly seemed less important.

Fortunately, no bones were broken. Zhou Wenqing forced a bitter smile. When he raised his hand, he realized that his right hand had also been bandaged.

Oh, right!

He suddenly remembered that in the panic of the attack, the medicine bottle he was carrying seemed to have been smashed in his palm, but at the time he was so tense and in pain that he completely ignored it.

Looking down at his right hand, which was wrapped tightly in strips of cloth and tied in a neat knot, he knew it was Xia Wuqie's handiwork.

Just then, Li Yi carried a bowl of warm white porridge and walked lightly into the inner room. She looked up and saw her husband leaning against a soft pillow, looking down at his right hand.

"Sir, Physician Lü was absolutely right. You have indeed woken up now."

He quickly walked to the bedside, gently placed the bowl of porridge on the small table beside the bed, and hurriedly reached out to help him, afraid that his movements would aggravate his injury.

"You're still weak, don't move, or you'll hurt your injury."

Zhou Wenqing subconsciously turned slightly to the side, secretly hiding his right hand, which was wrapped in strips of cloth, behind his back, and slowly shook his head: "It's alright, I can do it myself."

Li Yi noticed his little actions, her heart clenched, her brows furrowed even more, and her eyes were filled with intense self-blame and guilt.

"Sir, it's all my fault. I was negligent in my guard and failed in my precautions, which caused you so much suffering. I..."

"Sigh, that's enough." Zhou Wenqing quickly interrupted him, his tone tinged with helplessness. "What does this have to do with you? This ambush was clearly aimed at me. The other side had been planning this for a long time. Even if you were on high alert, it would be difficult to guard against a sneak attack from the shadows. How can you say that the protection was inadequate?"

He spoke casually, but Li Yi wouldn't listen. He hung his head, his voice low and muffled, full of frustration.

"But I should have protected you, instead you've been seriously injured. It's all my fault." He suddenly looked up at Zhou Wenqing. "Sir, please punish me."

I knew it would be like this.

Zhou Wenqing rubbed his temples, looking slightly troubled.

The other party went to such great lengths, using rolling stones and falling trees, and must have been lying on that ridge for who knows how long. They schemed against him with such meticulous planning. Ah Yi has already risked his life to protect him to this extent. How can we bear to blame him?

"Life and death are predestined, and fortune and misfortune are unpredictable. Besides, I'm fine, so why should I be angry with you? You don't need to blame yourself either."

"Can……"

"Alright, A-Yi." Zhou Wenqing interrupted without room for argument, then suddenly changed the subject, his voice revealing a hint of weakness from illness.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. I've been lying here for so long, my bones are all limp. I'm hungry. Didn't you bring me some porridge? My hands, sigh..."

He raised his right hand, which was wrapped in strips of cloth, and shook it, his brows furrowing slightly, as if he were genuinely worried about how to drink this bowl of porridge.

Li Yi felt a pang of sadness and quickly stepped forward, picking up the bowl of porridge: "Sir, let me feed you!"

"Okay." Zhou Wenqing smiled and said, "I'm afraid my hand won't heal anytime soon, so I'll punish you by making you do chores for me until you're fully recovered. Ah Yi, don't worry about it anymore."

Li Yi paused, lowered his eyes, stirred the rice porridge in the bowl, and said nothing.

The gentleman was always so gentle, which made him feel even more guilty.

After finishing a bowl of porridge, Zhou Wenqing felt a bit stronger and looked at Li Yidao: "When I first woke up, I think I saw Guest Elder Yao."

Li nodded: "Yes, Guest Minister Yao came with Physician Lü. The news that you, sir, did not... is still being kept under wraps. Guest Minister Yao was sent by the King to lead the delegation, sir—!"

He paused, gritted his teeth, looked directly at Zhou Wenqing, and earnestly advised:

"In your current state, you are truly unsuitable for a long journey. Once you have recovered, you should return to Xianyang immediately. We will not be going to Qi!"

Seeing Zhou Wenqing's lips move slightly, he immediately said, "Or, we could send Guest Elder Yao!"

"Sir, if there's anything you absolutely must do, you can entrust it to Guest Master Yao! If you're really worried, you can leave it to the eldest son as well. Sir, please, let's not go to Qi!"

Zhou Wenqing listened and sifted through the words, extracting only the key points.

"Has His Majesty appointed Yao Keqing to take over as the chief envoy? And what about Fusu? What has he been doing while I was bedridden?" Zhou Wenqing asked.

Sigh! I knew the gentleman wouldn't agree; he's not even going to listen to a reason.

Li Yi sighed inwardly and replied somewhat dejectedly, "His Majesty did not explicitly designate Yao Keqing as the chief envoy. He was originally here to take charge of the overall situation. However, during your illness, the eldest son has already taken over the position of chief envoy, holding the imperial insignia to oversee the situation, comforting the soldiers, and visiting the wounded. Everyone is convinced of his authority. Therefore, Yao Keqing is willing to temporarily serve as the deputy envoy."

"But was this idea Han Zi came up with for Fusu?"

"No, it was the eldest son who volunteered."

Zhou Wenqing looked up at the crossbeam at the top of the tent, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed softly.

This child has grown up a lot.

"Perfect, it'll be good practice for me too." A hint of relief spread across his eyes. "In that case, let Fusu take my place, and I, as his teacher, can hide behind him and slack off."

This showed they had no intention of leaving the mission, and Li Yi immediately called out anxiously, "Sir!"

"His Majesty's decree is that you should return to Xianyang to recuperate as soon as your injuries have subsided!"

"When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders." Zhou Wenqing's expression was calm, but his eyes revealed determination. He glanced at him indifferently. "A-Yi, you know my temperament. There's no need to waste your breath trying to persuade me."

Looking at his resolute expression, Li Yi finally sighed helplessly and remained silent.

------

Although I am determined to continue towards the goal, I will need to rest and recuperate for a while before I can set off again.

These past few days, Zhou Wenqing has been kept under close watch by Physician Lü, who administers medicine and acupuncture every day. This has made him terrified whenever he sees the white-bearded figure, and he wishes he could bury himself under the covers.

But the effect was significant. After seven consecutive days, her complexion improved considerably, and she no longer looked so pale.

At this moment, he was sitting on the couch chatting with Han Fei. As they talked, he looked out the window, lost in thought.

"Zicheng," Han Fei called softly, "Are you tired, or feeling unwell? I'll go get you..."

"Ah, no need!" Zhou Wenqing snapped back to reality and quickly waved his hand. "I'm perfectly fine. Please don't call me Physician Lü. I just drank the medicine, and the smell of medicine hasn't gone away yet!"

Han Fei chuckled and shook his head: "Physician Lü's medical skills are indeed superb. Zicheng, you must not avoid seeking medical treatment!"

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!" Zhou Wenqing denied repeatedly, raising his voice several decibels.

If Physician Lü heard these words, they would surely soak him in a medicine jar and pickle him!

He glanced nervously towards the door, and only after confirming that the figure that made him uneasy hadn't appeared did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Han Fei looked at his guilty expression, his smile deepening, but he didn't expose him. He simply picked up his teacup, took a sip, and lightly changed the subject:

"What were you thinking about just now? You were staring out the window, lost in thought, and you didn't even hear me calling you."

Zhou Wenqing's gaze drifted to the window again, and he said with slight worry, "I'm wondering, where did Fusu go again?"

"I happened to run into him when I arrived." Han Fei put down his teacup. "He should be with Guard Li right now, strategizing and practicing battle formations with them."

"Sigh." Zhou Wenqing sighed softly.

During his recuperation period, perhaps due to physical weakness or the medication prescribed by Physician Lü, he often slept more and was awake less.

Since he woke up, apart from the day Fusu was so excited he almost pounced on him, in the following days, the child would either come to visit him while he was asleep, or he would only say a few words before making an excuse to leave in a hurry.

She's clearly avoiding him.

It seems that the accident that day still left a shadow on the child; we need to have a serious talk with him.

"Mr. Han, could you please call Fusu here?"